Friday, November 10, 2006

Whitehall withdraws its clause for cat lavatories

A government guide that tells pet owners to provide private lavatories for their cats — and "mental stimulation" to prevent them getting bored — is to be withdrawn.

The draft code of conduct for cat owners drawn up by the Department for Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) alongside the Animal Welfare Bill, which received royal assent in Parliament yesterday.

But after protests by MPs, the department admitted that it was scrapping the document because it was "over the top" and too "prescriptive".

The 17-page document lays down rules that cat owners should abide by to ensure the health, safety and happiness of their pets.

It says cats "need to go to the lavatory somewhere where they can behave naturally and feel comfortable".

Like humans, it says, they value their privacy. "Your cat should have somewhere private to go to the toilet with sufficient clean litter."

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